DABOI/ID Training

What DABOI/ID Training Actually Covers

"DABOI/ID training" is not a single course - it's the combined body of continuing education, clinical documentation, and exam-specific preparation a general dentist assembles on the path to becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry (ABOI/ID). Because the credential is earned in two separate, non-concurrent stages - a written examination and an oral case-based assessment - training has to be sequenced deliberately rather than crammed into a single study season.

This guide breaks down what candidates on the general-dentist pathway actually need to train on, mapped to the ABOI/ID's own five-domain blueprint, its fee and deadline structure, and its documentation requirements. If you haven't already reviewed the eligibility rules in detail, start with our DABOI/ID Requirements guide before building a training plan - it determines whether you're even eligible to register.

The Two-Part Pathway You're Training For

Every general-dentist candidate must clear both Part I (written) and Part II (oral) to earn Diplomate status. Passing Part I alone does not confer certification, and the ABOI/ID explicitly does not allow the two parts to be taken in the same calendar year. This single rule shapes almost every training decision candidates make:

• You cannot "double up" and sit both exams in one cycle, so training plans should assume at least a two-year arc from first registration to full Diplomate status.
• Because Part II requires eight submitted patient cases that are each finally restored and functional for at least one year before submission, case documentation training needs to begin well before you even register for Part I.
• The committee selects four of your eight submitted cases for defense without advance disclosure, so every case in your portfolio needs to be defense-ready, not just your strongest four.

For a full breakdown of what "hard" means in practical terms across both stages, see How Hard Is the DABOI/ID Exam?

Training by Domain: Where to Put Your Hours

The July 1, 2026 handbook lays out a five-domain blueprint for Part I. Training time should be allocated in rough proportion to domain weight, not evenly split five ways - a mistake many self-taught candidates make.

For the complete breakdown of each domain's subtopics and testable content, see our DABOI/ID Exam Domains Guide. And if you want a compressed reference for final review, bookmark the DABOI/ID Cheat Sheet.

Part I Written Exam: Format and Registration Mechanics

Training also means training for the exam's actual delivery conditions, not just its content. Part I is administered at Pearson VUE testing centers: 200 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions, five hours, with no scheduled break built into the clock. Any break you take is voluntary and comes out of your five hours.

• Practice sitting for long, uninterrupted blocks so five hours of sustained single-best-answer reasoning doesn't catch you off guard.
• The passing standard is criterion-referenced - you're measured against a fixed competency bar, not against how other candidates in your cohort perform.
• The official July 2024 newsletter reported a 62% pass rate among 58 candidates for that cohort; treat this as historical context, not a predictor of your outcome. See DABOI/ID Pass Rate: What the Data Shows for more on how to interpret this figure responsibly.

For the full financial picture across both parts, maintenance, and reexamination scenarios, read DABOI/ID Certification Cost: Complete Pricing Breakdown. And if you need exact scheduling logistics, our DABOI/ID Exam Dates guide lays out the full application-to-exam window.

Training for Part II: Case Preparation and Defense

Part II is where most candidates underestimate the training runway required. It combines standardized clinical cases with a live defense of cases you submit yourself, and the documentation requirements alone demand months, if not years, of forward planning.

• You must submit eight distinct patient cases, each finally restored and functional for at least one year at the time of submission - meaning the clinical work itself has to be completed and stable well before your Part II application.
• The committee selects four of your eight cases for defense without telling you in advance which ones - so training means being equally prepared to defend every single case, not just your best four.
• Oral case templates 2, 7, and 8 are changing for the 2027 cycle and become mandatory for all oral applicants starting in 2028 - candidates preparing cases now should build to the updated templates rather than older formats.

Eligibility, CE Hours, and Exemptions

Before any exam-content training matters, you need to confirm you meet the entry requirements. General-dentist eligibility requires:

• A qualifying CODA/CDAC-accredited DDS/DMD education
• Current, active dental licensure
• 670 documented implant-related continuing education hours, earned through AGD/PACE and/or ADA/CERP recognized programs

That CE hour requirement is substantial, and it's worth building your training calendar around closing that gap first - no amount of exam-content review substitutes for missing documented hours. Two notable exemption paths exist:

• AAID Fellows receive a Part I exemption and are credited with 200 CE hours toward the 670-hour requirement.
• Separate approved specialist pathways also provide written-exam exemptions for qualifying candidates.

If any of this terminology is unfamiliar, our foundational explainers cover the basics: What Is DABOI/ID?, DABOI/ID Meaning, and What Does DABOI/ID Stand For? are good starting points if you're evaluating this credential from scratch, alongside What Is DABOI/ID Certification? and What Is A DABOI/ID? for the certification's overall purpose. For a fuller narrative of how the credential is structured, see DABOI/ID Certification.

A Realistic Training Timeline

Generic study techniques - spaced repetition, focused review blocks, structured practice sessions - only add value when they're mapped onto the ABOI/ID's actual weighting and deadlines. Here's how that looks applied specifically to this credential's blueprint and calendar:

Once Part I is behind you, shift training entirely toward Part II documentation - since the two parts cannot be taken in the same year, there's no benefit to rushing case preparation before that. For a structured week-by-week study framework built specifically around Part I content, see the DABOI/ID Study Guide 2026.

After Training: Maintenance and Career Use

Training doesn't end at certification. Diplomates certified from 2008 onward operate on an eight-year maintenance cycle requiring 160 implant-related CE hours, a take-home multiple-choice maintenance examination, attestation, and a $250 maintenance fee. Active annual Diplomate dues sit at $450 under the published 2025-2026 schedule - both worth budgeting for as part of the long-term cost of holding the credential.

On the career side, the credential is used as a differentiator by dentists pursuing advanced implant caseloads, referral relationships, and leadership roles within implant-focused practices. If you're weighing whether the training investment pays off, our ROI analysis and DABOI/ID Salary Guide unpack the career-side considerations in more depth, and DABOI/ID Jobs covers how the credential shows up in hiring and practice-partnership contexts.

Throughout your prep, practicing under realistic single-best-answer, timed conditions matters as much as content review. You can run full-length simulated sessions on our practice test platform to get comfortable with the pacing before exam day, and revisit the main practice site periodically as you move through each domain to track where your accuracy still needs work.

Frequently Asked Questions